


I met this man today

by kuragins



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, eh enjoy it anyway i guess, honestly maybe writing isn't for me i'm so shit at characterizations, i love him though, whizzer is a pretentious ass who 'hates' Starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 16:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11294640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuragins/pseuds/kuragins
Summary: When Whizzer Brown steps into a Starbucks for the first time in his life, he meets a rude, arrogant man and vows to never return. Still, something keeps pulling him back.





	I met this man today

Whizzer Brown had always prided himself on never setting foot into a single Starbucks. Being the rebellious soul he was (or called himself in his mind, but he wouldn't admit that to anyone), a giant national chain full of overpriced coffee and teenagers trying to look impressive was really not on his top list of favorite places to be. That's why Whizzer, currently standing in that very shop at midnight, was certainly not in a good mood. Why was he even here? He flinched as a crack of thunder sounded outside and rain came down even harder than before. Oh, right.

Whizzer begrudgingly made his way to the counter, dripping water onto the ground. _God, now I have to buy something or they'll look at me weird_.

"I'll have a vanilla latte," he said for some reason, because it's definitely a great idea to order coffee at midnight. The bright-eyed cashier smiled at him. Her cheerful expression irritated Whizzer a bit (who could smile at this hour, and in a Starbucks of all places?), but there was also a sense of envy at how she could so easily grin at a stranger. He quickly dismissed it, grabbing his latte with his still-damp fingers, the warmth seeping into his skin. He didn't want to admit that it was quite nice inside the store, so he flopped onto the nearest leather chair and sank into the soft back, looking around the room.

Immediately, his eye caught on the man sitting alone at a table a bit away from him. Something about him was intriguing. He was obviously very attractive, his looks evident even when covered by dark under-eye bags and at least a four-day-old beard. Whizzer suddenly had the urge to get up and sit across from him. He shook his head and looked back at his coffee, but not before the man realized someone was staring at him and turned around in his chair. Whizzer lifted his head again to find himself in the crossfire of the man's intense gaze. He knew it was rude to just stare at a stranger like that, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. He was frighteningly beautiful, Whizzer realized, but it was as if _something_ had damaged him beyond repair, making his beauty seem even tragic. He made a decision.

Peeling himself out of his chair, Whizzer made his way across the floor and pulled out the chair across from the man. He sat down, testing his luck. He didn't look away from the man, who eyed him warily.

"I'm Whizzer," he said, attempting a smile that turned out as more of a smirk. _Nice going, flirt with him the second you see him_ , he berated himself. Not that that wasn't what Whizzer was trying to do, this guy just seemed more... interesting than someone he'd go to for a quick fuck. The man's lips curled down in distaste and his eyebrows furrowed.  

"Marvin," said the man shortly, seeming to have sized Whizzer up sufficiently for his taste. The two men sat there in an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"So, what are you doing in a Starbucks at midnight?" prompted Whizzer. "Alone?" Marvin's mouth turned down even more, and he squinted at Whizzer in a way that explicitly said _back off._

"I guess I could ask the same of you," he retorted.

"Yes, but why do you look so miserable?" Whizzer knew he was pushing his luck here, but somehow he didn't care. To say he was intrigued by this strange Marvin might be accurate.

"Why would you care?" scoffed Marvin. "You can't just come up to a stranger and ask them about their problems. I met you thirty seconds ago, and you already seem like an asshole." Those were words Whizzer heard quite often from complete strangers, but they somehow actually hurt coming from _this_ complete stranger. Marvin, somehow, didn't really feel like a stranger, even if his hard gaze seemed to be screaming at Whizzer to go away. "Why are you even talking to me, anyway?" _Because you're really attractive and something made me want to_ , Whizzer wanted to say.

"Just bored, I guess," he chose instead, and leaned back in his chair. Apparently this was the _wrong_ thing to say, as Marvin abruptly stood up and pushed his chair in with much more force than necessary.

"Well, I guess you'll have to stay bored, because I was about to leave anyway." Marvin faced the door, then turned to Whizzer again. "Asshole," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, come on, you can't just leave," Whizzer called after him. "It's pouring." By then, however, Marvin was already out the door, shielding his face from the rain with only his hands. Whizzer had stood up as Marvin left, and slumped back down in his seat. Why did all the good things that happened to him always leave? He sighed, the barista sending him a concerned glance.

Whizzer left that Starbucks with the intention of never setting foot in one ever again. The very next day, though, he found himself walking past the same store he had been in the night before, straining to see if Marvin was somewhere in the now crowded cafe. He didn't spot him, and found himself becoming disappointed. For some reason, he just couldn't get that lost expression out of his head.

 _Snap out of it, Whizzer,_ he told himself after he walked down the wrong street.He still walked past every day without fail, slowing in front of the glass windows and scanning the whole store for the face he'd seen that night. After two weeks of nothing, Whizzer was starting to feel pretty stupid. That day, though, he peered into the store and saw him sitting right there, this time looking even better than he had the first time they'd met. He was freshly shaven, and his eyes looked considerably brighter.

Whizzer stopped dead as he tried to get a better look at Marvin, who actually had a drink this time. _I could go for a coffee_ , he said to himself, and darted into the store as inconspicuously as possible. He wondered how easily he could sit next to Marvin again, and realized there was an open table right next to him. Perfect. Could he manage to not be noticed by him? Marvin was very attractive, and just like anyone else, he wanted to enjoy that.

"Hey, aren't you the guy from the other week? Whizzer?" So much for that plan. Whizzer raised his gaze to see Marvin standing next to him, a slightly sheepish look on his face. "I was kind of an asshole, I'm sorry." Whizzer stuttered for a moment, not quite sure why Marvin even cared about him.

"Oh, I, uh- I was kind of an asshole, too, I'm sorry," Whizzer finally managed to spit out. There was something close to a small smile on Marvin's face, and something in Whizzer's heart jumped at the sight. _Pull yourself together, Whizzer,_ he told himself, wondering why he even had to tell himself that in the first place. Marvin pulled out the chair next to him, offering it to Whizzer.

"Let's start over. I'm Marvin, nice to meet you. I'm kind of an ass all the time, but I'm working on it." Whizzer sat, taking the hand that Marvin offered. A smile crept across his face. _I didn't consent to that smile, stupid heart._

"Whizzer. Nice to meet you too." As Marvin started talking about the newest drinks at Starbucks (that Whizzer obviously knew nothing about), he found that Marvin was surprisingly easy to talk to. Whizzer also realized that, despite this, and despite Marvin's incredibly good looks, he didn't feel himself attempting to flirt his way into his pants. At least, not yet.

"So Whizzer, what do you do for work?" Now, Whizzer would admit that a question like that was usually a warning sign for him. _Get out of this man's house now_ , was what it said to him, because when a man asked him this question he had often just had sex with him. Whizzer realized that something like this had never happened to him before, simply talking to a man who took interest in him. He wasn't exactly sure about the probability of picking up a date at Starbucks, though.

"Oh, I'm a photographer. Newspaper, and freelance stuff," Whizzer found himself saying. Marvin nodded, looking interested. Whizzer suddenly realized he had never told a stranger about his job in years. He really was lonely, wasn't he?

"Nice. I always wished that I could have an interesting job like that, but my parents wanted me to go and do something sustainable." Whizzer gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, that sounds like my parents." Whizzer decided to try his luck. If Marvin didn't like it, he wasn't worth the effort. "I think they were hoping more for a perfect straight Jewish son, but they got a gay photographer. At least I'm still Jewish." Whizzer studied Marvin's face carefully, but couldn't find a trace of reaction.

"Oh, nice, I'm Jewish too," was all that Marvin said, but something unknown glittered in his eyes across the table. Was he uncomfortable with the fact that Whizzer was gay? Did he even care? Was it a big deal for him? Was this him being supportive, just not acknowledging it? Could Marvin possibly be gay too? Could he be interested in Whizzer? Whizzer wouldn't find out, though, because that was when Marvin looked at his watch and grimaced.

"Ah, shit, I have to go. Sorry to cut this short." He stood up, and Whizzer instinctively stood with him. "Same time next week?" He extended his hand again, and Whizzer shook, nodding and slightly dazed. "It was great to meet you again!" and Marvin gave the first real smile Whizzer had seen of his, and the bottom of his stomach dropped out.

Marvin was gone, but Whizzer slumped back in his chair, wondering why his heart was beating faster than usual.

Whizzer, despite his reputation for sleeping around, barely even looked twice at another man that week. He waited impatiently for the day when he would see Marvin again, and frankly, that frightened him. He still did go to see Marvin the next week, and Marvin told him to come back the next week, and so he did. And he kept coming, every week, until he could safely call Marvin his best friend. He certainly made a dent in his paycheck with a crazy drink every week, though.

And then, one day, Marvin stopped him at the counter and paid for his caramel mocha something. Whizzer looked at Marvin to thank him, but was struck by the beauty of Marvin's smile. And suddenly, Whizzer felt something he'd never felt before, and that genuine smile was on Marvin's face but also in Whizzer's head when he closed his eyes, and so was the feel of Marvin's hand just lightly brushing the small of his back as they walked to the table. Whizzer's fingers shook slightly as he held his drink close to him, wondering why this was happening to him of all people.

"Thanks for the drink, Marvin," said Whizzer, struggling to keep his face calm. They talked for a little bit, as usual, but then Marvin stopped, as if he was considering what to say next.

"Whizzer, do you want to know why I was such a dick the first time we met?" Whizzer couldn't say he wasn't curious. "It was because I had divorced my wife really recently." Whizzer blinked. He hadn't been expecting _that_. Shit, did that mean Marvin was straight? Whizzer may have been in denial, but not enough to be able to say he felt nothing for the man. Marvin fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket. "We divorced because...well, this is the first time I've even said it out loud..." he trailed off into a breathy, nervous laugh. "It's because I'm gay, too. And thank you for helping me feel better about myself by being so confident when you first told me."

Whizzer forced his most sympathetic smile, because of course he was happy that Marvin was happy, and of course he was flattered that he had helped him in his new self-discovery, but currently Whizzer's entire internal monologue was just a string of _holy shit holy shit holy shit_. He wasn't even sure why this made him so excited, but somewhere, deep down, subconscious Whizzer knew exactly what was going on.

"Uh, well... I'm happy I could help," Whizzer decided on, cringing slightly at how it sounded. Marvin looked incredibly relieved, his shoulders losing all tension and a relaxed smile on his face. Whizzer remembered his first time coming out to someone. Nerve-wracking as it was, he distinctly recalled the sense of relief that followed. He was happy for Marvin.

However, something still remained unspoken, something that they both felt but chose to ignore, at least for now. They felt in the lingering glances, and the slight blush that covered Marvin's cheeks, and the way they couldn't quite look in each other's eyes.

Even though the two only saw each other once a week, Whizzer still liked to walk past the store, just to remind him of Marvin when he missed him. They'd known each other for around four months at this point, and Whizzer was finally starting to come to terms with his feelings for Marvin. Not that he would ever admit that to the man.

As usual, Whizzer was walking by the Starbucks on his way to work. A small smile spread his face as he imagined himself at one of the tables, talking and laughing with Marvin. He looked up when he saw a mildly familiar figure approaching him from the opposite direction. Whizzer squinted. _Hold on, that's Marvin_. It was true. Marvin was walking down the street, but a smaller figure was walking by his side. Whizzer smiled and waved, but Marvin slowed slightly and his eyes widened in what looked like guilt. Whizzer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, Whizzer," said Marvin nervously. "This is my son, Jason." Jason smiled carefully at Whizzer, but Whizzer could only nod mutely. Marvin had a _son_? God, he'd had no idea. No wonder Marvin looked guilty. He also looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Jason, this is my... this is Whizzer," he finished lamely. Well, Whizzer might as well take the high route.

"It's nice to meet you, Jason," he said, smiling sweetly and offering his hand to the boy, who shook it. He shot Marvin an icy glance over the top of Jason's head. Jason turned to his father.

"Dad, I'll go on. You do what you need to do." Jason was giving his father a knowing look that a child of his age should not be able to pull off properly. Marvin nodded weakly, and Jason started walking away.

"Wow, Marvin, it was so nice to meet that son you're always talking about," said Whizzer with a pointed stare.

"Look, I was scared to tell you. I didn't know if a hip young guy like you would want to be around me if you knew I had a son. And I didn't want to lose you." Whizzer couldn't help but soften a little bit, despite Marvin's use of the word hip. "Whizzer, I really like y- being around you." _Oh for God's sake, he'd been so close._ Whizzer couldn't help but reach out and put a comforting hand on Marvin's arm.

"Look, I'm still talking to you now, right? You don't have to worry." Marvin smiled, and Whizzer wished that his heart didn't have to jump like that every time he saw that smile.

"Okay, Whizzer, I'll see you around. Jason and I have to go somewhere." Marvin waved to Whizzer, and jogged to where Jason was standing. Jason grabbed his arm and turned him to face Whizzer. Marvin shook his head and tried to keep walking, but Jason gave him a small push and tilted his head in a way that said _go on and do it_. Marvin walked back towards Whizzer, grimacing.

"I wasn't going to do this today, but apparently Jason really wants me to." Marvin sucked in a deep breath. "So do you think that this week, instead of going for coffee like we always do, we could go to a- a nice dinner instead?" Whizzer gaped at him.

"You mean, like... a date?" Whizzer tried to keep the hopeful inflection out of his voice, but failed. Marvin smiled nervously. That was enough of an answer for Whizzer, and he broke out into a grin.

"Of course," he said, and Marvin's lips turned up almost shyly, and he went back to Jason. Jason elbowed his arm lightly and looked up at him, and Marvin pulled him close. Whizzer had never thought of himself as a person who liked kids, but he couldn't help the swell of inexplicable affection that welled up when he saw that scene. As Whizzer kept walking, he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

He waited for his and Marvin's date (it thrilled him to even think the word) restlessly, constantly looking through his closet for something suitable to wear, and even calling Marvin in a mild panic once now that they'd exchanged numbers. Marvin had just laughed and told Whizzer that he'd look amazing in anything, leaving Whizzer sputtering about how unfair Marvin's flirting was. Whizzer also wondered when he'd went from taking home any guy who looked at him twice at a bar to being unable to think of any man other than Marvin. He'd never felt anything like it before. It scared him, but also excited him.

Finally, _finally_ , the day came. Whizzer barely got through the day, constantly losing focus and wondering what might happen that night. He rushed home and rummaged through all his clothes again, deciding on the fanciest dress shirt he owned and hoping that was okay. Marvin had said it would be best to meet him at the restaurant, so Whizzer started walking, even though he knew he'd be more than a half hour early. When he approached the frighteningly elaborate-looking building, he was completely ready to pace for an extended period of time and hope he wasn't too sweaty, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Marvin looking about the same as he felt. Somehow, the tension completely drained out of him and was replaced with happiness at seeing Marvin again. He had it bad, didn't he?

"Hey," said Marvin a little breathlessly. Whizzer barely noticed, because he could not take his eyes of the man for one second. He looked _hot_ , and not even in a hot dad kind of way. His clothes looked amazing on him, but Whizzer knew they'd look exponentially better on his floor. "I guess we had the same idea of, you know, coming early," Marvin continued, snapping Whizzer out of his reverie, and making him hope it wasn't obvious on his face.

Marvin offered Whizzer his arm. "Shall we?" Delighted, Whizzer took it, and they walked into the restaurant.

The date itself, however, didn't even come close to either of their high expectations.

"Is this even meat?" Whizzer poked at his steak with his fork. Marvin made a face.

"Everyone at work said this was a great restaurant! What the hell?" Marvin looked incredulously at his plate, then up at Whizzer. At Marvin's horrified expression, Whizzer had to cover his mouth because of how hard he was laughing. Marvin couldn't control himself, and burst into giggles himself. Marvin waved for the check, and the waiter gave them a distasteful glance. By the time they'd stumbled out the door, they were leaning against each other, and somehow their hands had linked together. Whizzer looked down at them as a giddy feeling settled in his chest.

"Whizzer, come on, let's go somewhere else," said Marvin, and soon he was pulling Whizzer into an old fashioned ice cream shop. They were still holding hands, and Whizzer couldn't stop smiling. He looked over at Marvin as they ate their dinner of sweet cream and chocolate sauce, not what they had planned, but what both of them had wanted.

After they'd finished, they walked hand in hand down the street, only because they didn't want to have to leave each other just yet. Whizzer snuck glances at Marvin as he explained all the boring office buildings to him, still so excited that anyone watching would have thought Marvin was telling him the secrets of the universe.

Eventually they reached their weekly Starbucks, and Whizzer stopped Marvin.

"Good thing you're wearing a tie," whispered Whizzer.

"What?" But Marvin understood when Whizzer grabbed his tie and pulled their lips together, and it was somehow everything that Whizzer had wanted since the first time he laid eyes on Marvin. It was sweet with ice cream, and sweet with something not quite love, but what probably would be.

And when Marvin walked him home and kissed him goodbye against his front door, Whizzer found that something about this was just _right_. And when they laughed over everything when they were with each other, Whizzer realized he was incredibly happy. And when Marvin held him and they fit perfectly together, Whizzer knew that bitterly walking into that Starbucks had changed his life.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for bearing with me in this little story, but i saw the great boner debacle of the 2017 Tonys and i immediately knew that i needed to enter this fandom. anyway, I usually write great comet (read my in progress danatole fic!) but this was fun. any feedback is greatly appreciated, especially constructive criticism. I know I'm very very far from being a good writer, but I'm slowly getting better. (ALSO THIS BITCH DIDNT DO THEIR RESEARCH AND APPARENTLY STARBUCKS ARENT OPEN AT MIDNIGHT?? SORRY THIS FIC IS CANCELLED)
> 
> request fics on my [tumblr](https://kur-agins.tumblr.com/)


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